Debt collectors operating in Georgia are bound by two sets of rules that work together: the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act. Georgia debt collection laws limit how collectors can contact you, require them to verify what you owe, cap how much of your paycheck they can take after a judgment, shield certain income and property entirely, and let you sue for money damages when a collector crosses the line. Knowing where those lines sit is often the difference between paying a debt you don’t actually owe and making a collector prove its case.
What a Collector Cannot Do
Federal law forbids third-party collectors from harassing, deceiving, or treating you unfairly. In practice, that means a collector cannot call repeatedly to annoy you, use obscene or profane language, threaten violence, or place calls without identifying themselves as a debt collector.
Deception is treated just as seriously. A collector cannot misstate the amount you owe, falsely accuse you of a crime, threaten you with arrest, or threaten a lawsuit they have no intention of filing. Sending papers that are dressed up to look like court documents when they are not is also prohibited.
Collectors cannot garnish your wages or seize your property before getting a court judgment, and they cannot try to collect more than you actually owe. Contact is limited to reasonable hours: no calls before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. local time, and no calls at any place or time the collector knows is inconvenient for you.
Making the Collector Prove the Debt
Within five days of first contacting you, a collector must send a written validation notice listing the amount owed, the name of the creditor, and a statement of your right to dispute the debt within 30 days.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692g – Validation of Debts Skipping that notice is itself a violation.
If you send a written dispute within the 30-day window, the collector has to stop collection activity on the disputed amount until it provides verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against you.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692g – Validation of Debts This is one of the strongest tools available, because many collection accounts have been sold and resold, and errors in the amount, the original creditor, and even the identity of the debtor are common.
Stopping the Phone Calls
You can end most collector communication by sending a written request to stop. Once the letter is received, the collector may only contact you to confirm it is ending its efforts or to notify you of a specific legal action such as a lawsuit.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection
A cease-communication letter does not erase the debt. The collector can still sue, and the creditor can still report the account to the credit bureaus. What it buys you is quiet, which is often enough to think through what comes next.
How Long a Debt Can Be Sued On
Georgia gives creditors a fixed window to file suit. Once it closes, they lose the right to a judgment.
- Written contracts: six years from when the debt became due.3Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-24 – Actions on Simple Written Contracts
- Open accounts and oral contracts: four years.4Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-25 – Open Accounts
Credit card debt usually falls under the six-year written contract period, since most card agreements are written contracts.5Consumer Ed. What Is the Statute of Limitations on Credit Card Debt? Medical debt on an open account typically falls under the four-year limit.
The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. You have to raise it yourself. If a collector sues on a time-barred debt and you don’t respond, the court can still enter a judgment against you.
How Old Debt Gets Revived
Georgia Code ยง 9-3-112 treats a payment noted on written evidence of the debt, or any written acknowledgment of the existing liability, as a new promise to pay. That resets the clock entirely.6Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-112 – Payment or Written Acknowledgment
A partial payment alone, with nothing in writing, isn’t enough to revive the debt under Georgia law. But signing anything that acknowledges the balance, or making a payment that gets recorded on the account’s written records, can hand the creditor a fresh six-year or four-year window to sue. Be cautious about small “good faith” payments on very old debts, or written admissions that you owe.
If You Get Sued
You have 30 days from the date you are served to file a written answer with the court.7Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-55 – Default Judgment Miss it and the case goes into default. You then have 15 additional days to open the default by filing your answer and paying court costs. After that, the creditor can ask for a default judgment, and the court will accept every claim in the complaint as proven.
A default judgment unlocks wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens, all without the creditor ever proving the debt was accurate or even yours. Filing an answer keeps your defenses alive, including challenges to the amount, the statute of limitations, and the collector’s standing to sue. Debt buyers who purchased accounts in bulk often lack the underlying documentation to win a contested case.
Wage Garnishment Caps
Once a creditor has a judgment, Georgia law limits garnishment to the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed $217.50.8Justia. Georgia Code 18-4-5 – Maximum Part of Disposable Earnings If your disposable weekly pay is $217.50 or less, nothing can be garnished.
Private student loan judgments carry a lower ceiling of 15% of disposable earnings. Georgia also bars your employer from firing you because your wages were garnished for a single debt obligation, even if the creditor serves multiple orders on that same obligation.8Justia. Georgia Code 18-4-5 – Maximum Part of Disposable Earnings
Income and Property Creditors Cannot Touch
Some categories of income are off-limits regardless of any judgment:
- Social Security retirement, disability, SSI, and survivor benefits
- Veterans benefits, including military pensions, retirement pay, disability payments, and survivor annuities
- Pension and retirement program funds, including IRAs
- Unemployment benefits, Medicaid payments, and public assistance
- Workers’ compensation benefits
- Sickness or disability insurance benefits up to $250 per month
On the property side, Georgia’s homestead exemption protects up to $21,500 in equity in your primary residence. The same statute shields certain personal property and rights to receive alimony, child support, and pension payments to the extent reasonably necessary for support.9Justia. Georgia Code 44-13-100 – Exemptions for Purposes of Bankruptcy
These exemptions are not always applied for you. If a creditor levies a bank account that holds only exempt money like Social Security deposits, you may need to file a claim of exemption in court to get it released.
What You Can Recover When a Collector Breaks the Law
Federal and Georgia penalties stack. Under the FDCPA, you can sue for actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional statutory damages per lawsuit, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692k – Civil Liability The $1,000 cap applies regardless of how many violations occurred in the case.
Under Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act, you can recover actual damages, and if the violation was intentional, the court must award three times your actual damages. Attorney’s fees and litigation expenses are also recoverable when a violation is found.11Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-399 – Civil Actions for Violations Treble damages make intentional violations especially expensive, since even a small actual-damages figure multiplies quickly.
The Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division can also take enforcement action. Administrative penalties reach up to $2,000 per willful violation, rising to $5,000 per violation in certain circumstances, and the division can issue cease-and-desist orders.12Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-397 – Cease and Desist Orders Complaints can be filed directly with that office.13Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. About the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division
Bankruptcy’s Automatic Stay
Filing a bankruptcy petition triggers an automatic stay that immediately halts nearly all collection activity. Lawsuits, garnishments, bank levies, phone calls, and letters stop the moment the petition is filed, with no separate court order required.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay The stay covers claims that existed before the filing, not new debts you take on afterward. A collector who knowingly violates it can be ordered to pay your damages and attorney’s fees.
Bankruptcy carries long-term consequences for your credit and financial life, so it is not the right answer for everyone. For someone facing an active lawsuit or a garnishment they cannot absorb, the automatic stay is the fastest form of relief the law provides.